Uncork the laughter!!. Review on Wedding Crashers Movie

I'm at a loss for words. I've seen funny movies before - ones that have knocked me off my seat - ones that have made my stomach hurt - but few movies have made me laugh so hard that the waterworks just kept coming! Director David Dobkin makes wedding crashing akin to some kind of lost art. In concept and execution, this movie scores some huge brownie points in my book. Essentially one of the best split-your-sides laughing movies to come out in 2005, Wedding Crashers throws together the right on-screen elements, 2 larger than life comedic actors, a story that pretty much lends itself to hysterically funny characterizations, and most of all - it's all done in a manner that can only be best described as ''refreshingly different''.

Enter the Crashers

The minute the credits open, the humor hits you like you were just knocked over by a speeding truck. Divorce mediators John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey(Vince Vaughn) have a pretty interesting life. In an almost ridiculous paradox, their free time (which they seem to have plenty of) is spent crashing weddings - where they partake of the wedding food, the wedding wine, the wedding cake and needless to say, just about every woman in the wedding with the exception of the bride! They do it with such panache that it leaves even the best of us in awe. The toasts, the made-up stories, the fake tears, the huddle around the kids routine, just about everything they do seems flawless. The trick? The duo have a whole ''science'' worked out - a complete set of rules that cover just about every scenario they could possibly encounter. All goes well until they decide it's time to crash the creme-de-la-creme of weddings, this time at wealthy Senator William Cleary's(Christopher Walken) palatial residence in Washington D.C.

Once Bitten Twice Shy?

So here the two heroes are, blending in to the crowd and at the top of their game, at what Jeremy eloquently calls ''the Kentucky Derby of weddings''. Senator Cleary conveniently happens to have 3 daughters, the eldest is getting married, and the bride's 2 sisters are 2 knockout bridesmaids that immediately catch the eye of the two prowlers. Claire, played by gorgeous Rachel MacAdams, is quietly snickering at her sister's self composed vows, while her sister Gloria (Isla Fisher) is watching on, totally oblivious to the fact that she's been targeted by Mr. Slick. Once the vows are read and the party begins, off goes Jeremy playing his routine to perfection, seeking to sweep Gloria off her feet. And on a parallel track, John is off trying to work his best lines on Claire. Jeremy's plan works like a charm and soon the two are off at a nearby beach for a ''romp''. But things take a different turn when the girl confesses her virginity to Jeremy who sadly discovers he's stuck with an obsessive clinger. Oh the tragedy! On the other hand, John's attempts at wooing Claire are wearing thin when he realizes Claire has a beefy boyfriend, a rich one at that. But he remains resolute in his quest - what starts off as a game to score quickly turns into infatuation - one cannot be blamed, Rachel MacAdams exudes a sensuality about herself that few can ignore -and in our case here, it drives John Beckwith nuts that he's finally met someone unattainable! Or so we think. So when the duo get invited to a post-reception afterparty at the Senator's sprawling Hamptons estate, John jumps on it while Jeremy is less than convinced this is a good idea! But the two eventually join everyone on a boat and off they head to the Hamptons - where the two are about to learn they barked up the wrong tree.

First off there's Claire's preppy boyfriend who's clearly got ''high school jock'' written all over him - when the Senator invites John and Jeremy to a friendly game of ball, things turn rough when Jeremy gets the wind knocked out of him by the snobbish brute. Every chance he can get, John's trying harder than ever to talk the talk, and at some point in the whole charade, Claire begins to pay attention to John's less than subtle attempts at flirtation - but nothing gets past the watchful eye of the jealous boyfriend who never loses a chance to throw a punch at the relentless guy. Then there's the dinner scene with a potty-mouthed grandmother who gets off on a rant while John is still laying out his moves and Jeremy .. mm.. hmm.. is getting a ''workout'' with Gloria. I almost choked on my dinner at this one. To top it off, the sisters also have a black-sheep brother who interestingly enough turns out to be gay and Jeremy, who is clearly not enjoying himself, discovers this while spending a rather uncomfortable night at the Hamptons. The craziness does not preclude the mother of the girls who in a rather surreptitiously raunchy fashion swoops in on John when he's trying to get a moment alone with Claire and makes some pretty startling moves of her own. The movie just gets more and more interesting as it goes. I'm not going to get into every last detail because there's tons of humor to go around and I might be giving away more than I need to. Will Ferrell plays a cameo role as a rival crasher gone bad and he brings on the funnies in his own distinct style. Things come together in the end when in a weak spin to the story, Jeremy finally gets hitched to his stalker girlfriend and John gets the girl of his dreams and they drive into the sunset with wind blowing on their faces.

What really surprised me was the lame ending. Here I was midway into the movie - wiping the tears off my eyes - fighting temptation to break out into another session of raccous laughter - when all of a sudden the movie took a turn into the mainstream. Jeremy's wedding at the end to Gloria where John makes a big entrance and proclaims his love for Claire comes totally out of left field and suddenly you find yourself in painfully familiar territory. The cliched Hindi movie climax! Ouch!! The last act is almost an insult to the character's intelligence and it seems like the imagination well ran dry after an almost incessant assault of funny twists and turns. It was as if the lack of on-screen cliches in the first half begged for a balance in the last few minutes! Tsk tsk. I was disappointed at the ending - but overall, I think the movie really left me gasping for air. ''Uncorked'' is really what it's all about and it takes humor to a whole new level.

My Take

David Dobkin, in my eyes, is a hero. There is something about how he's put it all together that seems to have smacked my face sideways in how darn funny it is. What really impresses me is the director tried mixing it up and departed from sexual cliches and overtly gross and cheap theatrics that have dominated this genre of films of late. I don't know if it is the ad-libbing, the on screen charisma of protagonists Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, or the gorgeous women - but there's something about this movie that will make you want to watch it a secont time at least - but whatever it is, I can tell you this, if you've not watched this movie yet, do yourself a favor, gather some buddies, buy a six pack, and head to a video store right now.